The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-01-21

duty to extirpate the disease is on the
national government, particularly as in
some States it has grown to such d.
mansions as to be beyond the control of
the States. The disease until recently
had been confined to the Atlantic coast,
but on more than one occasion it has
broken out in the West. In Chicago
it has recently assumed alarming pro
portions. 1t is alleged that the oat-
breaks West are due to cattle shipped
from Maryland, whose reputationhas as,
sumed such vile proportions that it is
impossible to send Maryland cattle into
any State west of the Ohio river, owing
to quarantine regulations against the
State, while private buyers in other
States will not purchase from Maryland
There are day over 200 stables in
quarantine, and the disease doubtless
exists in many more not yet discovered.
The dis Ease, however, is unknown ex
cept in Baltimore city and county and
Carroll and Prince Georges counties.
A large herd in Howard county was at
fected last August, but it was slaughter
ed and the trouble wiped out. A
thorough recent inspection of the East
ern Shore failed to find any evidence
that the disease had ever been on the
Peninsula, though many Eastern Shore
butchers buy from the State stock
wards, section long infected The
losses by hog cholera in Maryland for
several years past have exceeded half
a million dollars per annum. But lit.
tie CHAMBERS in horses has been found
in the State, and on this subject the
committee does not think the govern
ment obliged to protect the citizens
from diseases that are indigenous to
the country. The chicken cholera has
also entailed great loss on the agricul-
turists.
One of the great hindraences to the
effective enforcement Of the law, the
report says, is the habit Of concealing
practiced by cattle owners and the hab
it of selling surrcptitiously to unscrup-
ulous butchers diseased animals, each
of which was practiced to great extent
in Baltimore. The appointment of the
sanitary board under the act of 1885
was referred to, and the report says
their system of quarantine, inexpensive
and efficient, has received the common
dation Of the commissioner Of agricul-
ture. This consists of small paddock
and chain placed around the horns or
neck of each exposed animal, the key
kept by the board, so as to prevent
spiriting away of diseased animals or
substitutions, and making violations of
: quarantine extremely hazardous. Fully
5000 cattle have been locked for at
least ninety days each, and there has
not been single violation of law. A
recent report of the commissioner of
agriculture shows that Maryland is the
only State which has lived up to it's
agreement with the agricultural depart.
ment in It's cooperation for stamping
out the disease. Since August the gov
eminent has kept seven inspectors in
, Maryland. In the same time there
were killed 479 animals alta cost OF SO, :
$50 or 5000 apiece. OF these the
government killed 355, at an average
cost of $22 46, and the State 1874, at
an average cost of S13 As. There we're
566 stables inspected, containing 5,l07
cattle, exclusive of inspection at the
stock yards. of the inspections, TT
were found to be infected The amount
spent by the government in Maryland
since August l was $4,000. The
State has also caused the slaughter Of
two horses affected with CHAMBERS
Why the Johns Hopkins University,
a black letter college, should be asked
or allowed, to put its finger into a
farmers convention affairs, is not clear
DR. f. W. Patterson, of the same
committee, and also an inspector in the
bureau of animal industry of the U. S.
agricultural department, made sup
Elemental report. He dwelt particularly
on the swine plague, or hog cholera,
giving its characteristics, extent, &c.
Its ravages in the Eastern Shore coun-
ties ranged as high in some places as IS
per cent, The disease is caused by
bacteria or germ. If it were possible
to destroy the germ it would be easy to
stop the plague. But unfortunately
there is nothing that will destroy the